Chris Hazzard

Chris Hazzard has been the Sinn Féin MP for South Down since 2017. Joining Sinn Féin whilst still at school, Hazzard became a member (MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down in 2012 whist completing his PhD in international studies and political philosophy at Queen’s University Belfast. At the time, he was the youngest serving MLA. He served as minister for infrastructure on the Northern Ireland Executive from 2016 until its collapse in January 2017. His victory in the South Down seat at the snap general election of 2017 involved the dramatic un-seating of a long-time SDLP stronghold, and Hazzard beat the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie by more than 2,000 votes. Supporting a united Ireland, Hazzard has pledged to “fight Brexit and Tory austerity” and has been outspoken in his criticism of the Conservative stance on the Northern Irish backstop saying: “The Tories and their DUP allies are dragging us headlong towards a no-deal Brexit which means a hard border and economic disaster”. Like all of Sinn Féin’s MPs, Hazzard follows a policy of abstentionism, meaning that he does not take his seat in Westminster.